Friday Bolts – 4.10.15
Darnell Mayberry with a fun look at OKC’s front office: “Remember when the Thunder structured Nick Collison’s contract extension so creatively in 2010 that he earned $13 million one season and $3 million the next? That was Winger’s creation. Remember when the Thunder selected Russell Westbrook fourth overall and everybody said it was a reach? That was the vision of Troy Weaver, the vice president/assistant general manager. Remember when the Thunder waited and waited on the right free agent last summer, allowing other teams to pay top dollar before landing Anthony Morrow on a relatively sweetheart deal? OKC always knew Morrow would be an ideal fit thanks in part to Jesse Gould, the director of basketball research and analysis whose job it is to know that Morrow is among the best catch-and-shoot players around and is particularly effective from the right corner.”
Ben Alamar of ESPN: “ESPN’s Basketball Power Index gives the Thunder a 54 percent chance of capturing the last spot. The Thunder are ranked higher in BPI than the Pelicans, and the Thunder face a much easier road through these four final games.”
Russell Westbrook on hosting his Why Not? Foundation bowling event: “This is another event to get a chance to raise money to be able to help mostly the kids in need. My job is to be able to find different ways to be able to raise money so I can go out and help kids as in Reading Rooms or whatever it is that may be that I want to help oversee.”
Some lamenting from a Spurs fan that the Thunder aren’t healthy.
Matt Moore of CBSSports.com: “In their final four games, the Thunder face three teams they should beat and the Blazers, who will likely be locked into the fourth seed and resting players. The Pelicans, on the other hand, face the dysfunctional Suns, the Rockets battling for the 2-seed, the Wolves, and San Antonio — and who knows what they’ll be doing. The Pelicans likely have to find three wins out of those four games. That seems pretty tough, but then, we’ve counted them out before and here they are.”
Clay Horning of the Norman Transcript: “It’s not the losing, but the lack of competitiveness. It won’t be missing the playoffs, but how the playoffs were missed. And it may not be about the personal feelings of Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook, because if Thunder general manager Sam Presti decides coach Scott Brooks can’t win an NBA championship with them, why, exactly will it matter so much that the dynamic duo — if Durant will ever be so dynamic again; its own open question — doesn’t want to play under somebody else’s direction? Yes, what Durant and Westbrook want should always matter in an outsized way, compared to all other players and maybe every other person in the organization, owner Clay Bennett included. Those are the spoils of being a superstar and both are clearly that.”
